The Last Time
by OceanWolfff
Summary: Thorne never loved Cress. But when she's gone, he realizes he needs her. And Cress, more heartbroken then ever, is trying to move on, even though to see a picture of him or to hear his name is painful like a stab to the stomach. But when Thorne runs into her months later, her feelings for him return. Is Cress ready to let him in again? Or will she push him out once and for all?
1. I've Got a Dream

**Hey guys! So, I just read the Lunar Chronicles and I'm in LOOOOOVVEE WITH THE BOOKS! So, like almost every fangirl, I decided to write a fan fiction. I hope that you guys enjoy it and stick to it, because I have big plans for this story.**

 **Please review! And enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1**

 _I've Got a Dream..._

She always woke up with the same dream. The same awful dream. It was like a nightmare.

It was about Thorne (because when wasn't it?) it was always based off of that one kiss in Levana's palace with the Lunar girl that Thorne had when Cress and Thorne were on their mission. It was always the same dream and the same lunar girl, just always a different place. Almost every night she had to see Thorne kiss the lunar in her sleep. It got to the point where Cress dreaded going to bed in fear of having that horrifying dream again and again. Honestly, Cress would rather have nightmares every night of Thorne stabbing her instead of this dream.

Thinking of the reoccurring dream brought Cress to relive the real scene.

She and Thorne were under cover in Levana's palace when the group of lunar girls walked up to Thorne. The lunar girl who kissed him, Lusia, commented, "I thought I sensed an earthen boy. And a well-dressed one at that. What a lucky find." Cress could still envision the way she traced his bow tie with her long finger and ran it down his chest before pulling him into a kiss. And Thorne didn't resist. He has kissed her back. It kind of hurt Cress, but she was mostly annoyed that Thorne was just being brainwashed. But it was when Thorne had said, "I think I'm in love with you," that her heart stopped. She felt so hurt, even though Thorne was still being manipulated. But she didn't care. She was hurt.

When Thorne had finally come out of the daze, he had begun to look for her, shouting, "Cress!" a few times. She had replied with "I'm here," in a plain voice. Thorne had looked confused, yet relieved. "Spades," he'd said. "I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. That was-"

"I don't want to know," Cress had interrupted, walking forwards quickly. Thorne followed after her saying, "Whoa, hey, hold on. Are you mad?"

Cress had stopped. She'd closed her eyes and clenched her fists at her side. She was mad. Mad that he flirted with every girl but her, being brainwashed or not. Mad that she was so naïve, falling for a guy who would never like her. But Cress couldn't say that. She didn't have time for drama. She had to finish her mission.

Cress had finally sighed and looked up at Thorne. "No, I'm not mad. It's not your fault she manipulated you."

Thorne had let out a breath of relief and smiled. The smile that Cress loved.

"Thank the stars," he'd said. " I don't want to get on your bad side."

He chuckled and winked at her, but Cress pretended to ignore him (even though her heart was fluttering wildly.) "Come on," she said. "We have a job to do."

Unfortunately, Thorne and Cress did get recognized. Thorne hid Cress and told her, "Be heroic," before he ran off and was taken away by Levana's guards.

Cress woke up from her memory. She didn't even feel the tears running down her face at first. Tears. _Tears_. Cress remembered when she and Thorne were reunited on Luna. Her eyes had welled up with tears as he cupped her face in his hands. He wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "No crying," she'd said. "It's dehydrating." It was then that he had pulled her into one of his strong, comforting, warm hugs as he'd whispered, "It _is_ you. Thank the stars."

Cress had cried a little harder revisiting that memory, sitting on the edge of her bed, but soon, after a good cry, she wiped her tears away. "Stop," she told herself. "Crying dehydrates you. Stop."

Cress took in a deep breath and looked out her window that was a few feet away from her bed. The sky was still dark and a sliver of the moon was inside. A crescent moon _. Crescent Moon Darnel_.

Everything that had happened during the last few months finally settled in. Levana was dead. Cinder was now queen. Letumosis now had an antidote. Her friends were all gone and living their lives. Cress had a family. Had. Out of all that happened, that was the one that dawned on her the most and made her think deeply about. She was always told that he family never wanted her because she was a shell, so they threw her out to die. And then her mistress, Sybil, "raised" her. That was the story that Cress was always told. But that story was all a lie. She was really just taken away from her family, and her father, Doctor Erland had been looking for her forever. And when he had found her, when he told her that he was her father, he was dying. Dying of Letumosis. It was such a quick goodbye and quick explanation that Cress didn't have time to think about it. But now she did.

Cress thought about how her life might have been if she wasn't taken away from her family. Maybe she'd a wonderful life. Maybe she would have gone to parties and dances, looking elegant. Maybe she would have been extremely happy. But then...she would have never met Cinder and the crew. She would never know the knowledge of technology to help them with their plans to over throw Levana. She would have never met Captain Thorne.

Cress closed her eyes and saw her father's eyes in her blackened vision. His sad eyes, full of tears.

He loved her. He said he loved her. But Cress didn't say it back. And now she regretted it. Her eyes welled up with tears once more, but this time, unlike the time on the Rampion, Thorne wasn't there to hold her.

 _Stop thinking about Thorne,_ she told herself. _He's no good for you. It only makes you feel worse thinking about him._

Cress wiped away her tears for the final time and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face. She was done crying. She had cried too much in the past few weeks. But she was a sensitive girl, so she couldn't blame herself. She just...wanted to be happy. But happiness wasn't found easily. It wasn't easy like in the fairy tales. Even though Levana was dead, there was no happily ever after. She was more heartbroken than ever.

Cress crawled back underneath her covers, the comfort and warmth of them soothing her.

"I'm done trying," Cress told herself, closing her eyes. "I'm ready to move on and get over everything. I'm ready to start over."

Cress yawned and her eyelids fluttered before falling asleep.

 **I hope you liked this first chapter! Sorry if there were typos (which in sure there were a few.**

 **Hope you look forward for the next chapter. Please leave a friendly, helpful review! 😊**


	2. Record Player of Memories

**Sorry for the super long update! Life has been so hectic and busy, but I promise you that this chapter was worth the wait.**

 **BTW sorry if there are typos. I'm sure there are many. I'm typing this on a phone currently, but I'll fix any grammar mistakes later.**

 **Read, REVIEW, and enjoy!**

 _2: Record Player of Memories_

He glanced out the window. Stars surrounded the Rampion everywhere. Luna was a thousand miles away from them, but still as big and bright as it looked from earth.

Earth was still a thousand miles away too. He hadn't been to earth in a few weeks. But in two weeks his ship would be full of the antidote.

Thorne enjoyed his work, even though most of it was spent in space in and a ship. But he didn't mind because it was his ship: The Rampion. And plus, he got to tease and annoy Scarlet everyday without her being able to run off too far.

The next time they were on Earth, though, there would be no escape for Scarlet. How unfortunate.

The thought of earth made him think of Cress. He didn't know why she suddenly popped into her head. He hadn't usually thought of her. The last time he thought of her was when he dropped her off on earth. The memory replayed in his head...

####################FLASHBACK####################

After Cinder was crowned queen of Luna and things settled down, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress, and Thorne were getting ready to board the rampion. Cinder and Iko, along with Winter and Jacin, stood outside of the rampion, ready to say their goodbyes.

Wolf walked up to them first. He shook Jacin's hand firmly. "Thanks for all of your help. And thanks for keeping Cress safe," Wolf said. Jacin gave a single nod and half smiled.

"I follow my Princess's orders." Jacin smiled over at Winter. "You should be thanking her."

"Well then, I guess I will," Wolf replied. He shifted his body towards Winter and grunted, "thanks for all you have done for us."

Winter walked forwards and hugged Wolf tightly. "I'm going to miss you."

Wolf was a little taken aback by the sudden hug, but soon returned it, but he didn't hug her for too long because he heard Scarlet clear her throat in a disapproving way. Wolf stepped back and smiled down at Winter.

Wolf walked over to Iko Cinder. Cinder stepped forwards with her hands in her pocket.

"I honestly don't know what I what've done or if this would all happen without you." She looked him square in the eye. "I don't feel like a thank you would be enough."

Wolf shrugged. "It doesn't have to be. I mean, I'm eternally grateful to you. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't be free. Or I'd be dead by now for disobeying orders."

"Stay safe," Cinder said. Wolf nodded and shifted uncomfortably on his feet before bending down and hugging Cinder. "Goodbye," he whispered in her ear.

As Wolf pulled away, Iko waved at him. "I'll see you around on Luna, right? After all, you are helping Thorne deviler the antidote."

"Right," Wolf nodded. "Bye, Iko."

As Wolf walked back, Scarlet knew it was her turn for goodbye. She strolled up to Iko first, her red curls bouncing around her. Iko smiled and opened up her arms wide. Scarlet walked right into the hug.

"I'm going to miss you," Scarlet said. She pulled away from the hug.

"Me too. But hey, I'll see you around. And when we see each other, I promise you we'll have lots of fun."

"I'll leave you to it," Scarlet chucked before giving Iko one last hug. She then walked over to Jacin and Winter. Winter looked really sad. Her eyes were filled with tears, threatening to fall out of her eyes any time now.

Scarlet hugged Jacin quickly before facing Winter. A tear had already run down Winter's cheek. Scarlet pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly and crying herself. Winter sobbed into her hair.

"You're leaving me," she cried.

"I'm sorry," Scarlet whispered. "I'm going to miss you so much, Winter."

"I'll miss you even more." Winter pulled back a little bit to look at Scarlet's face. She smiled at her as tears still rolled down her cheeks.

"I'll always look for you in the stars above," Winter told her. "I'll look for your constellation every night."

"Crazy," Scarlet whispered. She pulled her into one last hug before stepping away. She held Winters hands at stood away from her. She gave a sad smile before slipping her hands out of Winter's. Scarlet walked slowly towards Cinder.

Cinder gave a half smile to Scarlet. "Hey, stay safe, okay? And stay out of danger."

Scarlet laughed. "With Thorne being our pilot ,that's impossible."

Cinder laughed and pulled Scarlet into a hug. Cress walked up to Jacin and Winter when Scarlet was done. She shyly looked down at the ground and mumbled, "Thanks for keeping me safe." Her eyes met Winter's and Jacin's. "I would be dead without you two. I don't know how to show you how grateful I am. You saved my life."

Surprisingly Jacin pulled her into a hug. "You know it's weird, but I'm going to miss hiding you in my room. You always kept me company."

Cress giggled and hugged Winter goodbye before heading over to say goodbye to Iko and then Cinder.

Once Cress was done, Thorne realized he also had to say goodbye. He advanced towards Iko first. If she could, Iko would be crying real tears, but instead she fake-sobbed. Cinder rolled her eyes and groaned at Iko.

"I'm going to miss you so much," Iko cried, throwing her arms around Thorne's neck.

"Don't you fret, beautiful. I'll see you again on Luna soon enough," Thorne smiled at her. His charming smile made her smile brightly and she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Bye Thorne," she said. He turned around and headed over to Winter, giving her a hug goodbye. Winter planted a kiss on his cheek also (which no doubt made him blush.) He then faced Jacin with a slight smile on his face.

"Thanks for helping us out. Even though you did betray us."

Jacin shrugged. "I did what I had to do. And I knew what I was doing."

"Well, at least we ended up okay," Thorne replied.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Jacin said, "You treat Cress right, okay? Unless you want to deal with me."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that. Cress isn't staying with me."

Jacin let out a plain "oh," and looked down at his feet. "Well, good luck, I guess."

The two of them shook hands before Thorne walked over to Cinder last. It was probably just his imagination, but Thorne could've sworn he saw tears in her eyes, even though it was impossible for her to cry.

"Well," Thorne sighed. "I guess this is goodbye. For now."

"Fortunately," Cinder mumbled. She looked at Thorne and then smirked.

"You mean fortunately that we'll see each other again, am I right?" Thorne grinned.

"Sure, Thorne," Cinder chuckled. Thorne winked at her and she rolled her eyes, still annoyed with this charming man in front of her. But he was still-in a way-a good friend of hers. Possibly her best friend. _Ew_ , Cinder thought, shuddering at the possibility.

"Well, have fun ruling Luna. Don't go following after your aunts footsteps. Instead, follow after you uncle's. He's a good ruler," Thorne said.

"My uncle's...? What do you-THORNE!" Cinder exclaimed, her eyes wide. And if she could, she'd be blushing majorly right now.

Thorne bursted out laughing, clutching his stomach. Cinder crossed her arms and looked at him, trying her hardest not to smile and laugh along with him.

"You're lucky Kai wasn't here to hear you say that," Cinder said to him.

"True. I would've been in major trouble."

"WOULD have been? You still are with me, 'Captin' Carswell Thorne," Cinder retorted. Thorne raised an eyebrow at her. "Hmm. Should I be scared?" He wondered.

"Yeah. You should be terrified."

The two of them looked at each other for a few moments before Cinder broke her stone face and smiled.

"Alright, Captain. I think you better get going."

Thorne pouted. "But we were having so much fun."

"Were we?" Cinder asked, raising her eyebrows. Thorne chuckled lightly.

"Well, I guess goodbye," Thorne smiled at her. Cinder slowly walked forwards and wrapped her arms around him.

"Be safe," she said in his ear. "And don't bother Scarlet too much."

Thorne pulled away to look at her face. "You kidding? That's going to be the best part."

"Thorne," Cinder said in a warning tone, raising her eyebrow. Thorne huffed and finally replied, "Fine. I won't bother her too much."

"Good." Cinder pulled him back into one last hug until they both decided it was time to let go.

"Alright, my crew. Time to board the Rampion and set off!" Thorne announced. Everybody said one last quick goodbye before Thorne herded them onboard. He sat in his pilot seat and took off.

############

Cress held her small bag that contained a few dresses from Luna. She held Thorne's hand with her free hand as he led her down a path. There were trees everywhere. Beautiful trees. This was one of her first times seeing trees and her first time being able to touch them. She smiled at the beautiful nature surrounding her. There was a dirt path beneath her feet which contrasted against the light green grass. Cress was tempted to let go of Thorne's hand and to roll around in the grass, but now wasn't the time to do that.

They eventually came to an open spot on the trail. There was a small field of grass and a bench stood in the middle of it. Trees rounded the field in a big circle. Cress looked up at the open sky and then took in her surroundings once more.

It was beautiful.

"So, what do you think?" Thorne wondered. Cress turned around to look at him with her gorgeous, dancing blue eyes.

"Oh, it's wonderful!" She exclaimed. "I've never seen anything so beautiful!"

"What about the guy right in front of you?" Thorne smirked. Cress let out a loud giggle.

"Stop," she said, punching him lightly in the arm.

Cress turned back around to look at the nature. While she was mesmerized by it, Thorne sat down on the wooden bench. He smiled as Cress began to giggle and run around in the bright green grass and as she plopped down on the grass and lied there, looking up at the sky.

She finally sat up and saw Thorne sitting down. She brushed back the hair from her face and got up and started walking towards him. She set her self down beside him and clasped her hands in her lap.

"I really love this," she said to him. Thorne gave her his signature smile that always made her legs feel like jello and her heart melt.

"I'm glad," he replied.

The two of them sat in a small awkward silence, listening to the birds sing their tunes and the the leaves bristle in the light breeze.

"You know," Thorne cleared his throat. "They call this Tompkins Square Park."

"Do they?" Cress's bright eyes looked up into his.

Thorne shifted his eyes towards the trees and nodded. "Yeah. People usually use this place to say goodbye…"

Cress's heart began to beat faster and faster. Even though there were so many things that she could say swirling around in her mind, she breathed out a small "oh."

What more could she say? Hey, I actually changed my mind and I want to travel the world with you and pretend I'm not in love with you. Hey, stay here with me and we can be neighbors and great friends.

But Cress couldn't say that. She knew she had to do the grown up thing and let it all go. Keep it all in the past. Move on.

"Yeah," Thorne muttered. "It's a very secluded spot...unless other people are here to say goodbye. Fortunately we're the only ones."

"Or unfortunately," Cress mumbled.

"What?"

Cress had no idea that Thorne heard her. She began to panic. Maybe she could just pretend she said nothing, but Thorne obviously heard it, judging by the way he was looking at her.

"What do you mean by that?" Thorne asked, his tone concerned and curious.

"What I mean is...um..." Cress bit her lip and looked at the ground. She would NOT cry.

Cress looked back up at Thorne, trying to keep her watery eyes under control. "I don't want to say goodbye."

"Hey." Thorne grabbed her hand as she wiped away any tears that escaped from her eyes.

"You're going to be happy here in New Beijing. Kai says you're always welcome to visit him when you need someone to talk to and Cinder said she will visit every few months so you can see her then too."

"I don't care about that," Cress spoke as she looked down at her feet. "How am I going to be happy knowing that I lost a friend?"

"You didn't lose a friend," Thorne replied. "As far as I'm concerned, we are still friends, right?"

"Are we?"

Thorne pulled Cress up to her feet so that they both stood face to face.

"I just...I just don't know how to do anything without you. I'm new to this and now I'm being left on my own and..."

She choked on her tears as she began to rant out her worries.

"And you're scared that no one will be there for you?" Thorne wondered, his voice so soft and full of concern. Cress let out a sob and looked into his blue eyes.

"You're not going to be here anymore to help me. And I know that I have Kai, but he lives awhile away."

"You can do this, Cress. It's going to be okay. You can always contact one of us if you need us."

Cress nodded and looked away from his beautiful eyes, glancing at the trees.

"I'm just really going to miss you," Cress said so quietly. "So, so much."

"Me too," he said.

Thorne pulled Cress into a hug, trying to stop her tears. She pulled away after a few seconds and wiped her tears off her face.

"Thorne?" Cress squeaked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that we'll see each other again? Do you think fate will bring us together?"

"No, I'm pretty sure Cinder will," Thorne winked.

"I'm being serious," Cress said. Thorne dropped his hands at his side. He sighed before looking into Cress's eyes.

"I don't know."

Once more, Cress looked away from Thorne, avoiding eye contact.

"So this is our real goodbye," she whispered. A huge tear fell out of her eye and dropped down on the grass. "I'm never going to see you again."

"Cress..."

Cress breathed in heavily, and as she did, she felt Thorne cup her face in both of his hands and lift it up towards him.

"You're so incredible, Cress, and you deserve so much. You deserve the world. And I want you to be happy and explore this world that is now yours."

Cress stared deeply into his blue eyes. As she studied his face, his eyes dipped down to her lips. He gently ran his thumb over her lips, tracing them several times. Cress shivered at the touch, soft but blood curdling. She pursed her lips and then looked at his. She blinked slowly and she thought she felt him pull them closer to each other, but then he slowly let go of Cress's face. Cress felt dumbfounded and pulled back. She blinked a few times before looking back at him, confused.

"I thought you were going to kiss me."

Thorne swallowed hard and looked at the ground. "No, of course not. I wouldn't want to mislead you and bring you pain."

"This is goodbye and...It would mean so much if you just..."

"I can't Cress. I wouldn't want to hurt you in that way. Especially not right now."

Cress knew that she shouldn't say it. But she couldn't not say it. So she opened her mouth and spoke 5 simple words.

"But I love you, Thorne."

Thorne opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. He opened his mouth again and his eyes watered. But he tried to pull it off the best he could.

"That's sweet, Cress. That's...really sweet."

Cress felt so hurt. His words hurt like a stab in her heart. She held her tears back and swallowed to moisten her dry throat. She took a step away from Thorne and looked down at the grass.

"Goodbye, Thorne," she mumbled. She felt his arms wrap around her almost immediately. He held her so tightly she had to gasp for air. But he didn't let go of her. Not even a little bit. Cress soon melted into the hug and, even though she was hurt, she hugged him back with all she had. Because she did love him. And nothing he could do could stop those feelings right now.

Thorne held the the back of her head with his hand, supporting it. It made Cress feel so safe. She didn't want to let go. She didn't want this moment to end. She wanted to stay like this forever. She would if it meant being with Thorne for forever.

But he let go too soon. He held her face with one hand, his thumb stroking her cheek. A single tear rolled down his cheek while multiple ran down Cress's.

"Goodbye, Cress."

He slowly let go of her and turned around to walk away. Cress saw him walk away slowly. She sat down on the bench, brought her knees up to her face, and began to sob. She sobbed so hard and so loudly. He tears were uncontrollable now. She couldn't stop them. She was so heartbroken that her heart and eyes wouldn't let her stop crying, even if she wanted to.

Thorne walked on, but the moment he heard Cress sob, he paused. He thought of turning around to comfort her, but he knew he had to do the big thing and move on. He couldn't turn around now. He had to keep moving forward.

Thorne continued on walking, even though he was heartbroken himself. He was leaving the broken Cress behind. Tears fell from his eyes as he exited out of Tompkins Square Park.

################FLASHBACK OVER################

Thorne felt tears in the back of his eyes after reliving that memory.

Deciding not to think of the past anymore, he thought about his life now on the Rampion. It was a good life. And the Rampion was flying nicely today.

He patted the controls of the Rampion and put on a half smile.

"You're doing great, baby," he whispered. He ran his fingers gently over the controls, the touch so familiar to him. Right in that moment, Scarlet walked into the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't know you and the Rampion were having a moment."

Thorne turned around and saw the big smirk on Scarlet's face.

"Hey Scarlet!" Thorne opened up his arms and grinned widely. When she didn't hug him, he set them down at his side. "I guess I got rejected...again."

Scarlet snorted and rolled her eyes. "You should consider yourself very lucky that I even talk to you."

Thorne chuckled. "What do you need?"

"Well..." Scarlet pondered for a moment. "There was something I had to talk to you about."

Thorne gestured for Scarlet to sit down. She set herself down in the copilot's seat while he sat down in his pilot seat.

"Well, Wolf and I have been here with you delivering the antidote for quite a few months now. And, it's been nice, but..."

"You want to live your life?" Thorne cut in.

"I miss the farm. I miss that kind of work. I miss my old home." Scarlet looked out the window and saw earth miles and miles away. Then she made eye contact with Thorne.

"I mean, it's been very nice here and it really makes me happy to know that I'm making a difference by delivering the antidotes...but..."

She looked at her hands. "I'd hate to have you stay here and deliver the cure all alone. But Wolf and I are ready to move on and live our lives."

Thorne nodded and stood up. "No, yeah I understand."

Thorne clearly was a tad bit upset, and Scarlet could sense that.

"Thorne..."

"It's fine, really." Thorne turned around to face her. "I mean, I know it'll be a little harder at first to adjust without you, but I'll manage."

He gave her a smile, but Scarlet still wasn't too convinced.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "Because Wolf and I can stay for a bit longer, if you need us to."

"Well, now that you've come to mention it, there's a big shipment of the Letumosis antidote were supposed to pick up in 2 weeks. Do you think you could stay till then?"

Scarlet thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I think we can make that work."

"Good." Thorne smiled. "Once we drop the antidote off on earth, I can drop you and Wolf on earth. While that happens, I'll be having repairs for the Rampion. Sounds good?"

Scarlet ginned. "Sounds like a plan."

 **I hope that you really enjoyed this chapter. I have BIG plans for this story, so please stick around. I promise you this fan fiction will be unique. It'll be different from some TLC Cresswell fan fictions you see.**

 **Thanks! Please review!**


End file.
